The deal also involved another firm, China-based Huawei Technologies, taking a minority stake in the company.

That aspect of the proposed acquisition -- through which Huawei, a longtime 3Com partner, would have received a 16 percent share of the company -- led to scrutiny by U.S. regulators on national security concerns.

Ultimately, worries about Chinese ownership of a 3Com stake resulted in the deal failing to receive the blessing of the U.S. Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which would have been needed for the sale to proceed.